Meet Our Team

Dr. Warren S. Guy is the kind of dentist everyone wishes they had. Kind and gentle, Dr. Guy has calibrated, mended, and cleaned tens of thousands of children’s teeth since he founded Pediatric Dentistry of East Texas in 1978. In fact, many of his earliest patients now bring their own children to visit East Texas’s most experienced pediatric dentist.

A key component of Lufkin’s medical community, Pediatric Dentistry of East Texas is stocked with the latest dental equipment. But the office’s most important asset is its dynamic staff.

Each staff member is certified by the Texas State Board of Dental Examiners and everyone in the office understands the delicate art of working with children.

Here’s a guide to the friendly faces you’ll meet in our office.

Warren Guy, DDS, PhD

Pediatric Dentist

For Dr. Guy, there’s no greater job satisfaction than watching a child graduate into life with a radiant smile. He lives for the moments when parents compare their children’s improved teeth with old yearbook photos. With a laugh, he recalls the time when one of his girl patients proudly reported that she “smiled at a boy in the mall and he had a seizure.”

Dr. Guy has been caring for kids’ teeth in East Texas since 1978. During that time he’s not only become an important part of the community, but he’s also acquired up an impressive roster of credentials:

Dr. Guy is a member of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry and a member in good standing of The American Dental Association, The Texas Dental Association, The East Texas Dental Society, and the Christian Dental Society.

Dr. Guy is licensed by the Texas State Board of Dental Examiners and has certifications from the Board for Nitrous Oxide and Enteral Conscious Sedation.

Dr. Guy trained as a pediatric dentist at Children’s Hospital in Cincinnati. He also has a PhD in biochemistry from the University of Rochester in New York. He taught in the University of Florida College of Dentistry for several years. He is an honors graduate of Baylor College of Dentistry.

When he isn’t attending to teeth, Dr. Guy loves spending time at his little cabin in the woods which has a pond where he enjoys fishing and swimming. Most of all, he loves spending time with his wife and their 10 grandchildren.

Lee Ann Risner

Registered Hygienist

As a mother and grandmother, Lee Ann loves being around children. Needless to say, she is perfectly suited to the role of dental hygienist at Pediatric Dentistry of East Texas.

Lee Ann has considerable experience. Since 1973, she has been a dental hygienist in a variety of offices—from general dentistry to periodontal, orthodontic, and pediatric practices. She is licensed by the Texas State Board of Dental Examiners as a dental hygienist and has certification in nitrous oxide analgesia. For all her considerable skill, Lee Ann is always curious to stay abreast with every development in modern dentistry. Lee Ann hopes that her pediatric practice shows children that dental visits are nothing to fear!

Lee Ann and her husband have three daughters that keep them plenty busy. When she isn’t enthusiastically cheering from the sidelines of a number of sporting events or attending a variety of continuing education courses, Lee Ann likes to relax by gardening.

Misty Bridges

Orofacial Myologist

Misty can change help correct bad oral habits such as thumb sucking, nail biting, mouth breathing and lip biting. Her experience with children makes each visit rewarding. The problems your child faces are explained in detail. Misty develops a customized plan and gives effective exercises your child can perform at home. At each stage of improvement your child is rewarded. Misty is very effective in bringing about beneficial changes to your child's oral habits.

Chris Ballard, DDS

Anesthesiologist

Dr. Chris Ballard is a board certified dentist anesthesiologist who completed an anesthesia residency at Loma Linda University Medical Center in California. He has decades of experience with general anesthesia for dental patients. Dr. Ballard works mostly in the Houston area providing mobile anesthesia services for a variety of practitioners for their patients. He comes to Lufkin every few weeks to provide anesthesia for Dr. Guy’s patients who are too young to co-operate, who need more difficult surgeries (for example impacted wisdom teeth) or who have special needs (like autism) that prevent them from receiving necessary dental care.

When Dr. Ballard comes to Lufkin he brings emergency equipment, monitors and anesthetic drugs. He employs a registered nurse to help patients recover from anesthesia. Dr. Ballard’s fees are quite a bit lower than hospital fees for the same services. Another advantage is that dental care under general anesthesia can be provided in the dental office setting using the most advanced dental equipment that hospital operating rooms often lack. The team at Pediatric Dentistry of East Texas has decades of experience working with Dr. Ballard in a surgery room designed for that purpose.

Dana

Office Administrator

Dana serves as our office’s administrator of practice and she is also a Registered Dental Assistant. She and her husband have three children.

That deep communal engagement comes from growing up here. Dana graduated Lufkin High School and attended Angelina College. She joined Pediatric Dentistry of East Texas in 1996.

Maria

IV Sedation Coordinator

The ever-cheerful Maria Santoyo moved to Lufkin in the late 1990s and has been scheduling appointments for Dr. Guy since 2000. She and her husband have two children. Church is an important part of her life.

One of Maria’s great assets to the office is that she’s fluent in both English and Spanish. She’s also in a unique position to observe the faces of patients coming in and out of the office. As she puts it, “I feel great joy when I see children come to the office feeling nervous and scared and through out the visit they receive gentleness, compassion and understanding from all the staff and leave the office smiling, laughing and proud of themselves for achieving a great visit.”

Gloria

Insurance & Billing

Gloria hopes that her contagious smile reflects how she feels about children. (She and her husband have three children of their own.) She has been immersed in the world of dentistry since 2002 as a certified dental assistant and continually upgrades her skill set through continuing education courses. Gloria, who is a bilingual, also handles all aspects of dental finances and insurance for Pediatric Dentistry of East Texas.

Sue

Dental Assistant

Sue is the leading dental assistant of Pediatric Dentistry of East Texas. She started working with Dr. Guy in 1997 but has worked with children her entire adult life. She is married with two grown-up girls and has three grandchildren.

Best part of her job? “Working with children who seem to have trouble dealing with dental work and returning for treatment with out any fears,” says Sue.

Elda

Dental Assistant

Elda is happily married and has two girls and one boy. One of the dental assistant’s favorite sounds is a child’s laughter which makes Pediatric Dentistry of East Texas a dream job environment. But what Elda loves most is the joy that she feels every time that she helps with their dental needs. She feels blessed to have the job and is grateful that her bilingual skills come in handy! Other than attending church, Elda relishes time with her family at home on weekends.

Jessica

Dental Assistant

With three children of her own, dental assistant Jessica enjoys serving children and teens. In fact, she treats all her patients as if they were her own. It’s hard not to fall in love with these kids, she admits. Her bilingual skills are a great asset to the office.

Lori

Dental Assistant

Lori Letney, the office’s orthodontic and laboratory coordinator, has three grown children with her husband. Her job allows her to watch other children grow up. “Some of my favorite things about being part of the team here at dentistry for children are the giggles, smiles, and innocence of the young children we see each day,” says Lori. “It’s very rewarding for me to watch these children as they grow up in our practice and become mature confident young ladies and gentlemen who have learned to value healthy strong teeth.”